This invention relates in general to disposable containers for trash, garbage, leaves and the like and deals more particularly with an improved inflatable self-supporting trash or yard clean-up bag.
Disposable trash and yard clean-up bags made from lightweight plastic materials have gained widespread acceptance. Such throw-away bags are often used as liners for rigid containers such as wastebaskets, garbage containers and trash cans. However, the cross-sectional area of such a disposable bag is often somewhat greater than the cross-sectional area of the rigid supporting container in which it is received, making it difficult to remove the filled or partially filled bag from the container. The latter condition is frequently encountered with respect to a yard clean-up bag used to dispose of leaves, grass clippings and like materials which tend to be compressed or become compacted as the quantity of material put into the bag increases, resulting in the bag becoming jammed within its associated container.
Heretofore, inflatable self-supporting bags have been provided which do not require a rigid supporting structure to overcome the aforedescribed problem. Typical examples of such inflatable, self-supporting bags are found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,186 to Besthorne, issued Jan. 19, 1971, and U.S Pat. No. 3,742,994 to Pensak, issued Oct. 21, 1971 and assigned to Colgate-Palmolive Company.
A typical inflatable, self-supporting bag of the aforedescribed type is of lightweight construction and has a height dimension substantially greater than its major width dimension. When empty, such a self-supporting bag tends to be unstable and prone to tipping, even in a light breeze. Consequently, such a bag is not particularly suitable for outdoor usage. Further, in manufacturing a bag of the aforedescribed type, it is necessary to provide a separate bottom panel for attachment to the lower margin of the bag side walls to allow the inflatable side walls at the lower end of the bag to expand to the full cross-sectional area of the bag to provide an adequate support base for the bag, which adds substantially to the cost of producing such a bag.
Accordingly, it is the general aim of the present invention to provide an improved inflatable self-supporting bag which overcomes the aforedescribed problems and which may be produced at lower cost using a smaller quantity of material than required to make a prior art bag of comparable size.